Zest for Benefit & Reward

There’s no hiding that I believe it’s time for an overhaul in the benefits industry.

If it’s not broken, don’t fix it – everyone has heard this. But when it comes to employee benefits portals, the market is crying out for a root-and-branch overhaul.

Many in the rewards and benefits arena simply aren’t aware that employee reward systems have long become outdated and as a result they’re failing to even come close to achieving the benefits sold at the onset.

The real concern, however, is that it’s become a market where busy human resources directors (HRDs) have largely been dictated to by suppliers. It’s a market that has been allowed to continue as is, without challenge. Lengthy implementation times, high project and consultancy costs, paper-based communications rather than digital are all too commonplace. Indeed, in many systems the employees don’t even have access to their benefits on their chosen devices.

But while HRDs are tired of their requests falling on deaf ears, the cost of this outdated state of affairs is more than just administrative hassle. The way employers present their benefits says a lot about them. Make it difficult for employees to either access their reward, change or personalise it to their needs – an increasing priority for millennials – and the impression can be that their employers don’t care. When people feel uncared for, they feel disengaged, productivity drops and ultimately they will leave.